Annette McDermott: Trump’s plan hurts transgenders, America

Regarding the Feb. 23 news article “Trump’s new policy may cripple court fight”: After Gov. Pat McCrory conceded defeat in December, speculation rose over his influence in the Trump administration. Whether or not he’s on the payroll, President Trump’s decision to scrap protection for transgender students reeks of the former North Carolina governor, and his infamous House Bill 2.

Much like HB2, Trump’s decision to abandon protections for transgender students shows the lack of humanity among our highest elected officials. They use fear and bigotry to spread hatred for our LGBT community and refuse to acknowledge the basic civil rights of transgender people.

When former Attorney General Loretta Lynch spoke against HB2, she said, “none of us can stand by when a state enters the business of legislating identity and insists that a person pretend to be something they are not, or invents a problem that doesn’t exist as a pretext for discrimination and harassment.”

And North Carolinians know HB2 is a bad law, with 50 percent disapproving and 58 percent believing it hurts the state according to Public Policy Polling. Trump’s refusal to protect transgender students nationwide only makes life worse, not better for Americans.